


Wait For Me (I'm Coming)

by fallingnights



Series: We're In The Endgame Now. [6]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, BAMF Pepper Potts, F/M, Fix-It, Grief/Mourning, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, James "Rhodey" Rhodes Needs a Hug, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Like I write anything else, Multi, No Beta, Pepper Potts Feels, Pepper Potts Needs a Hug, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Tony Stark Lives, We Die Like Men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 19:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21202913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallingnights/pseuds/fallingnights
Summary: A snapshot of Peter, Pepper, and Rhodey grieving Tony, who was fighting so hard to get back to them.





	Wait For Me (I'm Coming)

**Author's Note:**

> Another Fix-It? Can you belive? It's been six months and I still haven't gotten over it.

Tony knew this was the end, knew that he was dying but it didn’t feel it, which was unlike his other brushes with death. Every time he had touched death, it was agony. This time it was nothing, it was almost peaceful. The agony and ecstasy that was the gauntlet had brought was gone; everything had gone blissfully numb.

He vaguely felt himself stumble over to a piece of wreckage from the compound, sliding down it onto the ground. It took him a moment to realize that he couldn’t move as Peter moved close to him. 

“ _ Kid _ ,” He tried to mutter, although Tony was unable to know if the words actually came out. Tony couldn’t move to look at Peter but he could though he heard Peter speak. The words were blurred, incoherent despite how desperately he tried to make them out. He could make Pepper out clearly, however, when she kneeled down in front of him. 

“Hey,” She whispered. Tony could barely move his head but managed to look at her, his beautiful wife. 

“Hey, Pep...” She glanced over him before placing a hand on his arc reactor. Pepper asked FRIDAY a question he couldn’t make out, but he moved his left hand onto hers. She paused for a moment, looking down before retracting the nanobots from her hand; the warmth of her skin vibrant on Tony’s cold hand. 

“Hey Tony, look at me.” He forced his eyes, up staring at his smiling wife; his best friend.  _ You did this from them _ , he thought suddenly, Pepper, Morgan, Peter, Happy, Rhodey all coming to the forefront of his mind.  _ You can’t leave them.  _

“We’ll be okay,” Pepper whispered as if she read his thoughts, keeping the gentle smile on her face. “It’s going to be okay. You can rest now.” 

Tony believed her. 

He let go of the fight that was holding him, letting himself be taken in the sweet embrace of the darkness and peace. He didn’t even realize it was death that he taking him until he was already gone. 

There was a moment of silence before Pepper’s sobs were the only thing that could be heard on the battlefield. 

Rhodey had to look away. 

The battle had just come to an end just moments ago, with the snap of a gauntleted finger. They’d won. Five years later, they won that battle they lost so many years ago. And it had taken a terrible toll. There was no cheering, no one celebrating at the victory. There was just the sound of sorrow as all the victors stood around the body of Earth’s greatest defender. 

He couldn’t watch as Tony’s head lulled to the side and just like the light in his eyes, the arc reactor flickered out and he couldn’t look. He couldn’t look at the corpse of his best friend, his brother; the man that was supposed to outlive him. His last memory of Tony was not going to be the cruel death fate had given him. It was not going to be of Tony’s burned and lifeless body.

He turned his head up to look at the sky. He stared up at the grey sky, pleading to anything and everything that could possibly be up there for this not to be real. 

This shouldn’t be real. None of this should be real. 

God, but it was. 

He felt tears start to run down his face and found himself pulling the crying teenager closer. He heard Pepper scream in grief. 

It was painfully real for all of them. 

*****

Peter couldn’t really fathom that he had been gone for five years. It felt unreal. He couldn’t understand how the seconds into between dusting and waking had been five years. One moment he was fighting alongside Tony on Titan and the next Peter was watching him die. 

How was he supposed to deal with that? How was he supposed to move on from that? He couldn’t just hide in his room until everything blew over; Peter couldn’t just cover the bruises and cuts and ignore them like before. He couldn’t do  _ anything _ . 

Peter unconsciously pulled the blanket a little tighter around himself. He pushed those thoughts away, numbly trying to re-focus his attention to the broadcast. Every channel had been re-airing and discussing and analyzing the press conference held at SI yesterday. Most of the public had figured out what had happened already. It didn’t take much to connect the dots. But there were still questions that needed to be answered, and it was up to the remaining Avengers to answer them. It had been up to Steve Rogers to tell the world what Peter already knew: Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff died saving the world. 

This is what Peter had been doing. He hadn’t eaten, hadn't slept, hadn't done anything but watch the coverage of Tony’s death and wondered how they got to this point. How he should have stopped this. Just before Titan, Tony had asked Peter to be apart of his wedding. Now,, instead of a wedding, Peter was going to a funeral. 

“Peter,” He heard, flinching violently at the sudden touch on his shoulder. Panic flooded through him and he jerked around, pulling himself off the couch into a defensive position in a matter of seconds. It took a moment to realize it was just May, not some attacker that had gotten in. May must have realized what he was thinking because she took a small step back, giving him space. 

“Hey,” She gave a gentle, calming smile; the one that washed away any sense of panic that ran through him; the disarming one she used whenever he woke up screaming.“It’s okay. It’s just me.” 

His heart thudded violently in his chest and Peter let out the shaky breath, forcing his raised arm back down to his side. Breath in. Breath out. In. Out.

May gave him a moment, before moving next to him. “Are you okay?” She asked quietly. Peter took a deep breath. 

“Yeah. Yeah,” He didn’t meet May’s gaze. “I’m fine.” It was clearly a lie but he was not about to fall apart in front of May and dump all that on her. 

“Are you sure?” May pressed gently. 

Peter gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah. I was just distracted. Sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” She nodded, not dropping that reassuring smile although it didn’t reach her eyes. “I just wanted to tell you that you should probably start getting ready.”

Peter must have taken too long to respond because May said, “We don’t have to go, Peter. If you’re not feeling up to it we-”

“No.” His voice cut through hers, sharp and harsh, and he immediately felt guilty at snapping at her. “No,” Peter repeated again, softer. “I need to go.” 

“Okay,” May said gently. “Everything’s laid out on your bed. We’ll go once you’re ready.” He nodded and May turned to leave but paused in the doorframe. She turned to face him. “I’m here for you, okay? I’m always gonna be here for you.” And with that she turned and left, letting the words hang in the air. 

He bit his lip, his breath hitching in his throat. The cynical part of him told him that’s what Ben had said, that’s what Tony had said. 

*****

Pepper knew this feeling intimately; the grief, the sorrow, the mourning. She had felt it when she found Tony was captured in Afghanistan after Rhodey had called her in tears. She felt it when she watched Tony fly into a wormhole during the Battle of New York, a nuclear warhead on his back and a very slim chance of coming back to her; when the mansion exposed and crumbled around them and he sent the armor to her. She felt it when she heard the Sokoiva was falling; when he went on a spaceship against her begging and pleading and not coming back until a month later. 

There was no hope that sparking in her chest this time unlike everything before; no belief that somehow he would beat all the odds again. She held no belief Tony would be coming back to her; that had all gone when she watched him snap his fingers on the battlefield. 

All she had was Morgan by her side, a flower wreath, and an arc reactor. Pepper took a deep breath; that was going to have to be enough.

She kept her stoic as she and Morgan stepped down the wooden steps of the cabin. Nebula, Happy and Rhodey followed close behind as they crossed over the dying grass towards the dock in the lake. The line of as everybody followed behind them before coming to a halt as Pepper and Morgan stopped at the end. She blinked, pressing a gentle hand against Morgan's arm; trying to give her any comfort that she could. Her heart ached but she wouldn’t herself fall apart, not now. Pepper and Morgan knelt down slowly, saying one last goodbye as they gently placed the wreath into the lake. 

She stared at the flowers as they floated away. Pepper didn’t realize how long she was watching, only being jarred back into the present when Morgan pulled away from her. Pepper looked over and Happy was next to her, Morgan’s hand in his. He gave her a gentle smile, touching her shoulder before turning and walking with Morgan to the cabin, a quiet conversation filling the air. She watched them go before realizing Rhodey was walking up. 

“Hey, Pepper.” His voice was raw and she immediately noticed the redness in his eyes. 

“Hey, Rhodey,” She responded. She glanced up at the cabin, just then noticing the rest of the mourners had dispersed at some point -probably inside for the reception- and it was just her and Rhodey as far as she knew. She stared for a moment before moving to sit at the edge of the dock, taking off her heels in a moment of impulsivity and putting her feet into the lake. Rhodey watched with amusement before doing the same things and sitting next to her. 

How many times had she been here with Tony and Morgan, having a day in the lake? How many times had she been out here and watched the stars with Tony, his arms wrapped around her as they talked about the future? She couldn’t imagine not doing it anymore, not having him right by her side. 

“I don’t want to do this without him,” Pepper whispered, her hands clenched in her lap. “We were supposed to grow old together, raise Morgan together.” She took a breath. “He still had to take me to Venice.” The word cracked and she pressed a hand to her mouth, stifling the sob that she had been holding back. 

Rhodey didn’t speak instead wrapping an arm around and pulling her into a hug. He didn’t want to say anything, promise things he couldn’t assure, just like with Tony. He just held her and she broke down in his arms, crying tears she didn’t know she had anymore. She held him viciously as if he might disappear at any moment. It was like that for a few moments until her sobs calmed down. 

“Did Tony ever tell you about the Platypus incident?” Rhodey said suddenly, almost out of nowhere. Pepper blinked for a moment, pulling away from him and wiping her eyes. She shook her head and Rhodeysmiled, thinking fondly back on the memory. 

“It happened at MIT,” He said and Pepper found a small smile across her flushed face. 

“Those are never good stories,” She whispered, her voice and throat raw from crying. 

Rhodey let out a noise of indignation. “Those are the best stories. You must not have heard any of the good ones. Anyways, this was our second year, a week before finals and Tony had the brilliant idea to steal a platypus from the zoo.”

“Surely you didn't let him-” 

“We had drunk a little too much, okay?” He defended. “And he really wanted to see if platypuses were actually poisonous.

“Oh my god,” She grinned, pressing a hand to her face. “He didn’t.” 

“Yeah, he didn’t.” There was a dramatic pause. “I did.” 

“No, no way.” Rhodey shrugged and looked away sheepishly. 

“Tony couldn’t climb the enclosure. Where do you think the nickname came from?” Pepper let out a small laugh, twisting the wedding ring on her finger. 

“Honestly? I was scared to ask.” 

“And they were, poisonous, I mean. We had a hell of a time explaining that to the doctors” They both shared a laugh and Pepper leaned against him, before the somber atmosphere creeping back in. She took a deep breath, wiping at the tear tracks on her face. 

"I miss him," she whispered. "And I'm so angry and I know I shouldn't because he saved the Universe and the world but I'll never see him again. We'll never see him again." 

"We'll get through it." He said, his tone firm and confident. "It'll suck and it will be miserable," Rhodey’s voice broke and he had to stop and take a breath. "But we'll get through it; we have to. I would give everything to live in a world with Tony but I can't. Tony did give everything for the world we have now and-” 

"It can't be in vain," Pepper finished, looking down at the lake. She grazed foot over the still water, sending a ripple across the lake towards the wreath. 

“Rhodey, Pepper.” Happy’s voice cut through the air. They both turned and saw May and himwalking towards them, Morgan gripping his hand and a cremation vase curled in his other arm; Nebula, Peter, and Harley trailing behind the two adults.. “Everybody has cleared out if you want to…” He trailed off. “I’ve brought everybody if your ready.” 

She didn’t realize how long they had been there; it must have been hours if everybody already left

The funeral hadn’t been public, but it certainly wasn’t just Tony’s family and Pepper really just wanted to wait until it was then when she scattered the ashes; she wanted it to be a private and intimate affair. Rhodey squeezed her hand and she pulled her feet out of the water, standing up with Rhodey to face them. 

“Thank you, Happy.” She cast her gaze over the group. “Thank you all for coming. I know it's…” She let out a deep sigh, feeling tears welling in her eyes. “Tony loved you all so much and he would be very glad to know you’re all here. I’m glad you’re here.” She said, gently taking the red and gold vase and Morgan’s hand from Happy before turning to the end of the dock, the group surrounding behind her.

She placed a gentle kiss on the vase before slowly opening it. Pepper turned it over slowly, the ashes catching on the gentle breeze before falling and sinking slowly into the water. 

_ I should put it in a locked box and drop it at the bottom of a lake... go to bed _

“You can rest now, Tony.”

*****

He felt himself slip away as he stared at Pepper’s beautiful face, there was darkness, and then he was drowning. 

One moment he was gone and the next he was somewhere and he couldn’t breathe. Black splotches filled his vision and he couldn’t tell if his eyes were open or closed. Everything was burning and there was a buzzing screaming in his right ear and he couldn’t see or feel his right arm or anything on the right side of his body. His heart thudded so rapidly it hurt. His lungs were screaming. 

He felt like he was dying… but hadn’t he already done that?

_ Move _ , a calm voice whispered in his screaming thoughts.  _ _ He recognized the voice; despite the panic filling his body, he could still fill a recognizable sense of both fear and comfort rising through it as the voice spoke.  _ Calm down and go up.  _ He didn’t even realize he had started swimming until he saw an expanding circle of light in the darkness. He broke through the surface and was blinded by the light. His head feels like it is going to explode but he’s breathing... he thinks. 

Something tugged at his spiraling, confused thoughts and he felt himself moving, trusting in instincts he didn’t realize he had. The voice spoke again, coaxing him to keep moving forward. 

_ That’s it. Follow me. Trust me.  _

He was swimming forward and with each second his vision in his left eye became clearer. The land he found himself moving towards cleared and he felt and ping of familiarity and nostalgia hit him he saw as he saw a shore of land and dock extending from it. He didn’t recognize but couldn’t find it in himself to think about it as he collapsed on the land, the soft dirt sinking under his weight. 

_ Don’t stop now. You’re almost there.  _

He’s never felt such pain in his life and wants nothing then to close his eyes and go back into the darkness. 

_ Don’t you dare,  _ the voice snarled, a sharp sense of cold snapping through his skull.  _ We’ve worked too hard, you’ve been through too much to stop now. Move!  _

He wanted to ignore the voice, to let himself fall away but he doesn't. He forces himself up, forces himself forward through the pain. 

And then he saw the cabin and it's so much easier. 

He stumbled and scrambled up the sloping land and the wooden stairs up to the entrance of the cabin he built and never thought he would see again. The doors unlocked and that’s a miracle and he didn’t even think about why the security in the cabin wasn’t stopping him. He crashed through the door. Everything's blurry as he forces himself through the familiar path, he feels himself about to drop but can’t find it in himself to stop. He tries to scream their names but gets nothing but a painful raspy whisper. 

And then he heard someone yell and he heard loud steps on the stairs. He desperately tried to moves towards the sounds. He reached the bottom of the stairs, staying up by nothing but sheer willpower when Rhodey stepped down the stairs, a gun in his hand. Both stopped dead in their tracks and locked eyes with each other before darkness hit him at breakneck speed and Tony felt himself collapse. 

_ You made it. Now live.  _

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
